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An ex-insurance agent from San Clemente has been accused of using fraudulent practices to profit off of investments he made for at least six elderly clients in Southern California.

55-year-old Mark Malatesta, a man employed as a licensed insurance agent, was taken into custody on Monday after the California Department of Insurance detectives found what they believe is supporting evidence that he was taking part in a monetary ruse which cost his former clients over $1.6 million. The alleged victims were reported as senior citizens, who are said to be a target demographic of an increasing number of deceptions designed to cheat them out of their money, as reported by Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones.

Malatesta has been accused of a procedure called “churning,” wherein a broker who typically has permission to make independent determinations on how to invest money from the client’s account performs transactions “chiefly to generate commissions that benefit the broker,” as described by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

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The mother of a 9-month-old boy has been accused of endangering her child when she allegedly failed to notice that the baby, who was in the car with her, had somehow exited the vehicle. The infant was discovered by people in the area who saw him crawling in the middle of a busy street without any supervision.

27-year-old Ledrika Ford and her son, accompanied by a family member whose identity has not been made public, were in a vehicle together with the baby buckled in one of the back seats. At an unknown time during their trip through Utica, NY, the child exited the vehicle without being noticed and began attempting to crawl across the street.

Passers-by spotted the infant on the road and stopped to assess the situation and assist the child. As some people attended to the crying child, several others tried to call 911 for emergency assistance.

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While driving to her wedding on Monday an Arizona bride was part of a collision involving three vehicles which resulted in her arrest based on allegations that she was driving while under the influence of alcohol.

On March 12 32-year-old Amber Young, adorned in her wedding gown, was driving through Marana, a city just north of Tucson, to her ceremony. En route to her destination Young was involved in a crash involving three cars.

When police arrived at the scene of the pileup they suspected that Young had been consuming alcohol. A breathalyzer test was not administered, but Young was taken into custody in order to provide a blood sample based on the allegations.

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On Tuesday at a jail in downtown Los Angeles a man was taken into custody when authorities alleged that he tried to enter the detention center using a fake badge, and he was said to be armed with weapons.

Around 10:00 p.m. on March 6, 28-year-old Greg Baghoomian of Sunland reportedly entered the Inmate Reception Center of the Los Angeles Men’s Central Jail and walked up to the desk with a badge. He flashed the identification and tried to enter the facility, but deputies on duty would not allow him to inside before verifying his identity.

Before authorities were able to authenticate his status as an FBI agent as his badge displayed Baghoomian allegedly fled from the Inmate Reception Center and fled in the direction of the Men’s Central Jail across the street. He was apprehended by deputies who were alerted of his impending arrival from authorities at the reception center.

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A Jacksonville, Florida, school teacher is facing charges for hitting another mother who was present at a youth baseball practice when the teacher allegedly took offense to the other woman’s choice of clothing.

On February 23 at the Orange Park Athletic Association baseball field around 7:00 p.m. parents and spectators gathered to watch children during a little league practice session. Terry Lee Coursey, a 37-year-old mother and language arts teacher employed at Clay High School, was amongst those in attendance.

Coursey, who is from Mesquite, Texas, but now resides in Orange Park, Florida, reportedly noticed another mother and took issue with the woman’s attire, and chastised her for wearing shorts that exposed more than what she felt was appropriate for the event.

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A Crawfordsville, Indiana man is facing charges after two separate incidents were reported from two teenage girls who have accused him of sexually assaulting them.

In early February a 16-year-old girl confided in her father and shared information with him about how she was the alleged victim of a sexual assault that took place over the summertime in 2015.

The young woman explained to her dad that she and her sister accompanied the accused and one of his friends on a visit to his home so they could all watch a movie together. She said that while viewing the film she had been sexually assaulted by the man that she identified as Zachary W. Grater, who is now 22-years-old. She explained that she didn’t feel comfortable coming forward about the occurrence sooner because she was afraid that had they become aware, she would have suffered from her school peers treating her badly.

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The once-treasurer of the Herbert Hoover Elementary School’s Parent-Teacher Association has been accused of misappropriating money from the organization’s fund and is facing felony charges for the claims made against him.

As reported by a spokesperson for the Desert Sands Unified School District, $22,000 of the money raised by the Herbert PTA was observed as allegedly missing from their fund. The financial discrepancy was detected sometime during the summer months of last year.

34-year-old Danny Cervantes, the treasurer of the Herbert PTA during the 11-month period that the money came up missing, became the main suspect for the misappropriated cash. Cervantes is no longer the treasurer of the PTA but it is unknown whether that is related to the allegations against him.

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After learning that they were allegedly providing melatonin in the form of gummy candies as a sleep aid for children at nap time, three day care center workers have been arrested on suspicion of endangering the life of a child.

19-year-old Jessica Heyse, 25-year-old Ashley Helfenbein, and 32-year-old Kristen Lauletta are employed as teachers at the Kiddie Junction Daycare Center in Des Plaines, Illinois.

Melatonin, a supplement that is commonly used to help people fall asleep, is sold over the counter in many health stores and markets. The hormone is naturally created by a gland in the brain and in most studies, it has not proven dangerous to consume more of it. It is reported that nightmares are experienced by some who use it, and that appears to be the most harmful drawback known at this time.

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A woman was taken into custody on allegations that she stole the identities of at least two of the elderly patients for whom she provided in-home health care, and used the information for her personal financial gain.

Aujana Johnson-Payne works for an agency in Orange County where she is sent on live-in assignments to clients’ homes, and she supplies them with meeting their healthcare needs. Many of the patients are senior citizens who live with debilitating symptoms after suffering strokes, developing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and other serious afflictions.

Johnson-Payne has been accused of abusing her position with two elderly patients in her care when at some point during her employment she reportedly stole their credit card or debit card information and assumed their identities to make purchases for herself.

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A 68-year-old woman was arrested for bringing contraband into a prison when she gave her grandson a bag of Doritos that she said she was unaware contained illegal substances.

Tennessee resident Sarah Griffin is the grandmother of Cody Clements who is currently serving time at the Shelby County Corrections facility. Griffin paid a visit to her grandson on Saturday and brought him a bag of Doritos chips.

An officer working at the facility noticed when Clements was passed the Doritos by his grandmother and he approached the inmate. The officer reported that he asked Clements to relinquish the snack bag and before handing it over Clements purportedly removed an object from the bag.

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